MUNCHING THROUGH MARIGOLDS RACE - A.O.G. DAY 13

After a couple of thunderstorms during the night, I decided I had better check on the Snail contingent this morning and was horrified to find that several of them had broken the Covid Rules by going out.  They were definitely not in the same “bubble” now and it took Mr. HCB and I several turns round the arena and outlying dressing rooms before we found four selfish snails who had now jeopardised their team’s chances of being All-Round Champions at the closing ceremony.

Sammy was distraught and was sitting in a corner with his head down, pondering where he had gone wrong.  I thought it best not to ask for an interview but he suggested one, so I whipped out my microphone and pushed the “on” button.  He told me that there had been quite a lot of fun and high jinks during the evening, but then there was a huge thunderstorm and several of the more timid snails had crept under their beds because they were afraid.  He tried to coax them out, but they were having none of it, so he just left them.  By the time he got back to the living quarters, he was horrified to find the door open and several snails missing, and realised that most of them were the teenagers, Solomon, Sterling, Stuart and Sergio.  He said it was quite late by then, so he decided to leave them and let them fend for themselves, because he said he couldn’t keep restricting them - they had to start taking responsibility for themselves.

This morning, Solomon and Sergio were back but they told Sammy they had no idea where Sterling and Stuart were - the last time they saw them they were having a few drinks with their friends but they had come back because they knew they would be in trouble if they weren’t around for breakfast.  Sammy said they had apologised and he had decided not to punish them.  In any event, they had found a long-lost cousin, Shelley, and had brought her back with them but Solomon assured Sammy that he had slept on the sofa bed and had let Shelley have his bed.  

Sammy said he had nominated Shaun take part in the “Munching Through Marigolds” Race along with Shelley, as she had the necessary credentials to take part, having come to the Games with another team, who had returned home yesterday.  Shaun was delighted to see Shelley, as he hadn’t seen her since she was very young and was pleasantly surprised to know she would be taking part in the same race as him as she had the right attributes for munching through marigolds and he remembered, from their young days, that she was always good at that.

I went with Sammy to the start line and it was obvious that Shelley would have a distinct advantage because she was much smaller and her shell wasn’t as difficult to manoeuvre.  Once the marigolds were strewn on the track - grown from seed, I might add, by Mr. HCB - the race began.  It was obvious that several of the teenagers were feeling very lack-lustre, not because they had been out last night, but just because they were teenagers, so it was easy for Shaun and Shelley to push their way forward towards the finish line and in the end, Shelley was the winner of the Gold Medal.  

Shaun did say that he thought Shelley had taken advantage by slithering over him, as you can see in the extra collage, but having won a race earlier in the week, he was happy for Shelley to take the Gold Medal and anyway, he was mindful of Sammy’s pep talk about “Together, Everyone Achieves More”. 

Just before she reached the podium to receive her medal, I had a quick word with Shelley.  She said it had been a hard race, particularly because most of the other snails were much bigger, but she had the advantage of being able to slither over them, which had helped tremendously.  I did mention the fact that she had a particularly long neck and she laughed and said that was from years of doing exercises and also being the youngest of a family of five, when her Mum used to bring the food out and shout “Stretch or starve!” so she had learned to stretch, from a very young age.

It will be interesting to see what the last day of the A.O.G. brings tomorrow - I just hope that all the Snail contingent will be on their best behaviour.

“Unity is strength…
     where there is teamwork
          and collaboration,
               wonderful things can be achieved.”
Mattie J.T. Stepanek

P.S.  Just for clarification, this race should have been “Tiptoeing through the Tulips” but as the A.O.G. had been postponed from the Spring, it had now become “Munching through the Marigolds” race.